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Taking care of our health is not only essential in helping us to feel good, but it also helps us to look good too. As we age, our health naturally deteriorates in some ways, and this varies from person to person depending on several different factors. Genetics, diseases, injuries, and lifestyle all play a part in the way we feel and how easy it is to maintain a good level of health as we get older.
While some of these things cannot be changed, there are many things that can be, and these changes can generally help us to counter the problems that we cannot fix. To help you identify anything you should be doing to maintain your health, we wanted to shine a light on some of the changes that most of us can make and the common problems that men face as we age.
Weight Gain
As we age, our metabolism tends to slow down significantly, reducing the number of calories our bodies burn off. This leads to excess fat reserves in our bodies. We start to find that we can no longer eat the same portions that we’re used to without gaining extra mass in places we’re not happy with, especially around the gut.
This metabolic slowdown is something that strikes most of us, no matter the gender or lifestyle. There are also certain changes we face in our hormone levels as we get older, including a reduction in testosterone which is involved in the creation of muscle.
Reduced Stamina
Maintaining quality levels of endurance is difficult but nowhere near impossible as we get older. Unfortunately, our mortal bodies slow down over time, and our muscles begin to lose the ability to hold onto as much energy as they did in their youth. It’s said that our bodies use oxygen much less efficient as time goes on, and this, when combined with the natural atrophy that our muscles begin to experience, contributes to us being slower and having far less endurance.
However, this doesn’t mean that we are destined to spend our later years shuffling around and avoiding exercise. In fact, there are ways that we can combat this reduction in stamina while fending off weight gain in the process.
Cardio Exercise
One of the best remedies to weight gain and reduced endurance is exercise. Specifically, cardiovascular exercises such as running, walking, and swimming are great ways to maintain a strong heart and lungs and keep your muscles, bones, and joints in great condition.
As we get older, our blood flow decreases drastically every year, but regular exercise will counteract this change, allowing you to maintain a healthy level of endurance and even add years to your lifespan. Remember that, generally being healthier, especially with cardio exercise, helps you to fight off illnesses like heart disease and stroke too.
Quitting Smoking
One of the best things that a smoker can do to drastically improve their health is to quit. It’s not an easy task, and it’s obvious that this would make your lifestyle much better. Unfortunately, the nicotine in tobacco is so incredibly addictive that it takes heroic levels of willpower to fight the addiction.
If you can manage to do so, you can essentially clean your lungs over time, and while you won’t be able to get rid of the years of physical lung damage and scarring that smoking tobacco can cause, you can still add years to your lifespan by quitting. It also reduces your risk of severe diseases like cancer and COPD. Not only that, but this also goes a long way towards improving your stamina that has been lost over the years, as your lung capacity will increase as well as the amount of oxygen you can move around your body.
Muscle Wastage
As we get older, our muscles may begin to waste away due to a number of factors. Once we hit the age of 30, we lose up to 5% of our natural muscle mass every ten years or so. By the age of 60, you might have lost a whopping 15% of that mass. This is a natural part of ageing and is merely a symptom of our mortality.
However, we can slow this process with healthy living and an active lifestyle. Some of this muscle wastage can come down to our nutrition as well as our hormones. Eating a balanced diet with plenty of protein and healthy fats can help us to retain our physical strength in spite of this natural process.
Strength Training
Another great way to maintain muscle as you progress towards your 50s and beyond is to keep up a good strength training routine. Regular usage of your muscles encourages your body to continue to replenish and repair them using your daily intake of nutrients. Consider two or three strength workout sessions a week for optimal results.
You should try to cover all of the major muscle groups in your body and strive to hit these targets as regularly as possible. Improving your strength will not only make you feel healthier, but it’ll also help you to maintain that great masculine appearance. There’s no reason you can’t look ripped in your later years, but it’ll take that little bit more dedication and patience compared to doing this in your 20s.
High Cholesterol
No matter our age, we can all suffer from the effects of high cholesterol. This is generally caused by poor diet rather than anything else, although it can be genetic and can also be caused by smoking and alcohol consumption. Generally speaking, though, excessive saturated fat in your diet will cause the levels of cholesterol in your blood to rise, and this can lead to some serious complications such as high blood pressure and even heart attacks and stroke.
It’s important to note that cholesterol itself has become somewhat of a bogeyman in the world of nutrition, but it isn’t inherently bad for you. In fact, cholesterol plays an essential part in the creation of testosterone and, ultimately, the growth of muscle. The problems arise when too much of this sticky, fatty substance is present in your blood, blocking blood vessels and restricting the flow.
Watch What You Eat
This leads us to the act of maintaining a healthy diet. Eating a balanced diet of proteins, carbohydrates, and good fats as well as consuming helpful vitamins and minerals, will serve as a great foundation for staying healthy. Eating the right food will prepare your body perfectly for both cardiovascular and strength exercises, allowing you to get the most out of these sessions.
It’ll also help you to reduce the amount of cholesterol in your blood, decreasing blood pressure and heart disease risks, and it’ll also allow you to better manage your weight. Portion control is another important part of having a healthy diet as enough good quality food can still cause you to gain weight. Instead of going back for seconds and thirds, try to instead save some food for the next day by putting it in airtight containers. You’ll not only regulate your caloric intake, but you’ll also save money on grocery shopping too.
Managing Hair Loss
Losing your hair can often be devastating to men, but it’s actually a very common occurrence and is nothing to be ashamed of. Some men handle baldness with ease, but for some, it can feel like a catastrophe. As we get older, we become much more susceptible to male pattern baldness, but you may be wondering, how does male pattern baldness start? It can actually begin at a very young age, even during puberty, but can start at any time throughout our lives. It’s called male pattern baldness simply because it follows a general pattern. The hair begins to recede above the temples, followed quickly by the receding of the hairline at the forehead.
You can do some things if you want to attempt to prevent hair loss, including stopping smoking, reducing the temperature of your showers, and refraining from over-washing your hair. At most, you should wash your hair and scalp gently twice a week. Any more than this and you can risk pulling out hairs as well as damaging the roots and removing natural oils that maintain the health of your hair.
Lower Libido
Sex drive is another thing that is impacted as we grow older, and there are a few reasons for this. Hormones, once again, are responsible for a reduced libido, with our testosterone levels being the major influencer in both our desire to have sexual relations and our ability to do so. S
ex is an important and natural part of our lives, and regular sexual activity can reduce our risk of things like prostate cancer too. While ageing can have a huge impact on our libido, illness, medication, and stress can also impact this so it’s worthwhile speaking to your doctor if you feel as though this is becoming a problem for you.
Boosting Testosterone
When considering raising your hormone levels, this is another thing you should discuss with your doctor. However, there are some ways to do this without the need for medication, such as changes in diet and lifestyle.
More strength exercise will naturally prompt your body to create more testosterone as your muscles will signal that they need to be repaired. Many natural foods are said to increase testosterone levels, including leafy greens like spinach, fatty fish rich in omega 3’s like salmon, avocados, and eggs.
Looking Tired And Having Low Energy
Sleep is one of the most important parts of our day as it provides our bodies with the time to heal and recover from strenuous activity. The act of thinking and concentrating on hard tasks can also be tiring for our brains, and allowing it to detangle these thoughts during deep, restorative sleep is essential in feeling refreshed for the following day.
As well as helping us to heal both physically and mentally, good quality sleep is great for our appearance too. Reducing the prominence of dark circles under our eyes and looking washed out is something a good sleep routine can do, and we should all be aiming at getting between 7 and 9 hours of unbroken sleep every day.
Maintaining Mental Fortitude
While it’s important to rest our minds, keeping it active and exercised is just as important. Our brains degenerate over time alongside the rest of our bodies, and we start to become less sharp than we were during our younger years. While there is a higher risk of actual degenerative brain diseases as we get older, this natural decline in the quality of our memory and mental capacity is something that many fear.
Working on our cognitive health is a great endeavour, and just as we should exercise our bodies, we should keep our minds working too. Games, puzzles, reading, and other active thought exercises are perfect in helping with this. If you do have serious concerns about your memory, though, speak to your doctor for more advice.
Taking Care Of Your Skin
We should all be taking care of our skin over the course of our lives, as it’s much more delicate than we think. Regular, prolonged exposure to the sun’s UV rays can damage our skin, reducing elasticity and increasing the appearance of wrinkles. Sun damage can be a very unappealing look and can also cause serious illnesses such as skin cancer. Seniors should be taking care of their skin in the sun just as much as anyone else, so wear a high SPF sunscreen when you venture outside and stay in the shade as often as possible to reduce your risks.
Preventing Prostate Cancer
This disease can strike at any time in a man’s life, and being aware of the signs is imperative to catching it early. Regular prostate exams should be a part of your healthy lifestyle, and while it may be an uncomfortable experience, it really does save lives. Luckily, some of the suggestions in this article also go towards reducing your risk of developing prostate cancer, such as maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly and eating a healthy, low-fat diet full of fruit and vegetables.